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Hello all. My bf has MS and was on prednisone for years. It ate away his joints and now at age 38 he needs hip replacement surgery. We are worried about how someone with MS recovers from this major surgery. Has anyone here had hip replacement surgery?

He cannot walk a step hardly anymore and his neurologist said that MRI's show that it is not the MS but the deteriorating hip that is causing the problem. So the neurologist said that he should have the hip surgery and then come back for further treatment of the MS.

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I was told seven years ago to have a cholecystectomy, gallbladder removal, due to symptomatic gallstones...not a surgical emergency situation though. That's all Kaiser would do for me, surgery. I was aware of a couple of alternative treatments but they said no. This was years before the MS. I was overweight at the time, restricted fat in my diet, lost weight as a result and still have my gallbladder - and all original parts for that matter.

My favorite neurologist, specialist in MS, said if I needed surgery, it is the anesthesia that would be the risk - she said it can worsen MS. I do not know if she meant worsening the disease or just the symptoms. She even recommended the shortest acting anesthetic possible when getting dental work.

Usually joint replacement surgery in a younger person is put off as long as possible - as I recall this was because the younger the person is the greater the likelihood it will have to be repeated at some point in their life.

My son does not have MS but severe arthritis from a car accident at the age of 16. He had hip replacement surgery at the age of 26 due to the joint degeneration. He is doing good and he still has pain but he was on crutches and miserable. They waited as long as possible to do the surgery because of his young age.

I have had a couple of surgeries since having MS and I don't think it adversely affected my MS. But then who really know.

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